Aspects of the present invention relate to networking. Other aspects of the present invention relate to network connection management.
Ad-hoc networking refers to the concept of multiple communication devices discovering, connecting, and interacting with each other when in proximity. An ad-hoc network may be formed using a scheme of broadcast and response. For example, in an environment of wireless services, a handheld device may discover other devices that are in a close range by broadcasting a connection or networking request through a broadcast address (or a multicast address). The devices that receive the networking request (or receiving devices) need to respond to the networking request.
A response issued from a receiving device may be granting the networking request or denying the networking request. In the former case, the receiving device grants the networking request and agrees to participate in an ad-hoc network. In the latter case, the receiving device denies the networking request and refuses to participate in the ad-hoc network.
In responding to a networking request, it may be annoying when users receive requests from people they are not acquainted with. It may even cause distress when a user receives frequent networking requests. More severely, a flood of incoming networking requests may disrupt or even disable a receiving device. In this case, the receiving device may not be able to respond at all. Another problem associated with this scheme is that it does not scale well when moderately or dense population is involved.